The Best Part Of Waking Up
by cembria
Summary: AH/AU Eric is a Dr. having a bad morning but Barista Sookie gives him something to look forward to, but she is keeping a secret that will change his life forever. Please read the Authors note.


_**I wrote this story to bring a very important issue to light. I live in Arizona and right now they are cutting state health benefits to the point where it is costing people their lives. I want everyone to remember to register to vote and remember to go out to the polls for every election, because it is so important that the right people get put into office so things like this don't happen. **_

_**People dying just because they can't afford health insurance in America is an epidemic and we need to take control back and the first step is voting. Remember you can't complain if you don't vote.**_

**E-POV**

My alarm started blaring at 5am. I got up and went for a run, but my lawn was flooded and I spent the whole time I allotted for running on the phone trying to get my pipes fixed. I decided to have a quick breakfast only to see that all of my eggs were expired. So I gave up on that and went to take a shower, but the plumbers turned off the water. I sighed and went to get dressed; I would shower at the hospital. Bright spot in the shitty day this was turning out to be was that my favorite blue shirt was clean. Score. I went out to my car to drive to work, unfortunately traffic was so backed up I would be no less than an hour late. I figured I can't get much later than an hour so I would at least stop for coffee. But Starbucks was packed. I hung my head wondering if my morning could get any worse when I caught sight of a little hole in the wall coffee shop called Merlotts. I said a silent prayer that they actually carried plain black coffee and walked across the street.

When I walked inside I noticed that the atmosphere was nice… soothing even. The music was soft Vivaldi if I remember correctly. There was no rushing customers or surly looking baristas. It smelled like coffee and fresh baked cookies. I walked up to the counter and I was greeted by a sweet looking girl, I would say she was about 22 or 23. Her hair was blond with the bottom layer dyed pink. Her make-up was light and it only served to accentuate her stunning features. He blue eyes bore into me as I took her in. She was curvy, but not overweight, just simply soft like a woman should be. Her tight jeans and sex pistols shirt only served to endear her to me more. My temporary good mood was squashed when my phone rang.

"What?" I answered briskly.

"Hey umm we're gonna need to rip up your lawn to get to the broken pipe." I groaned and said.

"Fine, just get it done." I slammed my phone shut and the girl took a risk in speaking to me.

"Hey, what can I get for…" I cut her off, hot or not I was in no mood for anything today.

"Coffee, black and now preferably." She crinkled her sweet looking nose, but soon put on a smile and got me my order. When I tried to pay she said.

"No. it's on the house today. I can tell you have had a sucky morning, so now you've had something good happen, and your day can turn around. Everyone needs at least one bright spot." She smiled and it was genuine. I had been so rude to her and she was nothing, but nice. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to get to know her but she just patted my hand and walked away. I was stunned to say the least.

She was right, the rest of my day turned right around. I had two patients go into a full remission and almost every appointment I had was treatable. As an oncologist it is rare I go a day without someone dying or me telling them they are about to die, so I took the low body count of the day as a direct result of coffee girl's kindness. I would be going back there tomorrow. I played baseball in college; I know not to break a routine when it produces a win

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The next morning I practically skipped into Merlotts. I saw coffee girl standing behind the counter looking a little pale and having a hushed argument with a tall woman about her age with a very short pixie hair cut. They both saw me and coffee girl put on a smile and dismissed her co-worker as I approached the counter. She already had my order ready and said.

"Coffee, black, right now." She did her best imitation of my voice and I smirked.

"Blue shirt." I said, she looked confused and laughed out.

"What?"

"Yesterday was not all bad, my favorite shirt was clean… it seems like that thing is never clean." She laughed, it was absolutely lyrical.

"Well it's the small things in life that make it worth living." I smiled, and I mean really smiled for the first time in probably years and said.

"I guess it is." I extended my hand and said "Dr. Eric Northman." She took my hand and said.

"Barista Sookie Stackhouse." I laughed and we shook hands. I took my coffee and called over my shoulder on the way out.

"See you tomorrow Sookie." She just smiled and waved. I could see how getting coffee could easily become my favorite part of the day.

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Over the next few months I slowly got to know Sookie, I learned that she is 25 and lives with her grandmother, who apparently came to stay with her when her home was foreclosed on. Her next door neighbor also works here and got her the job. Amelia was the one she was arguing with that day. She has a bachelor's degree in art history and loves to dance. I found out that she collects unicorns and her brother is in the military. I possibly know more intimate details about her than I do any other woman. Even my sister and I have known her for 30 years.

I walked into the coffee shop that morning and no one was at the counter… odd. I stood there for a moment and Amelia walked up with my usual and she took my money, never uttering a peep. I finally spoke just in the hopes of figuring out where Sookie is today.

"Hey Amelia, where's Sookie today?" She looked weary and said.

"She umm, she's sick today." That was odd; Sookie has never taken a day off as long as I have been coming here. I had noticed that she had been losing weight and when I mentioned it she seemed to clam up and blame it on stress so I didn't mention it again. Could Sookie be really ill or maybe it is just a cold? She didn't even give me a chance to ask any more questions because she stomped back to the kitchen. Sookie didn't come back to work for a week, it was then that I realized she had become the best part of my day and that I was going to work hard to make her the best part of my life.

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"How are you feeling?" I asked as soon as she came back to work. She blushed and said.

"Oh you know… its going around." I nodded, she had lost more weight and she looked tired. I chalked it up to her having been sick. I mean no one looks their best after battling a bug for a week. She handed me my coffee and I finally got up the nerve to ask her out.

"Hey Sookie?" She put on a serious face and leaned over replying.

"Yes, Eric?"

"Will you go out with me tomorrow?" She recoiled like I had slapped her and she made and expression I had never seen before. I don't know what I did to upset her. She started to wipe non-existent dirt off of the counter and said.

"I don't date." She looked sad like she was going to cry. I don't know what I did wrong, but I feel awful. I did the only thing I could think of.

"I'm really sorry Sookie; I didn't mean to upset you." I reached to cup her cheek and she leaned into me for the briefest moment before pulling back and running into the kitchen with tears in her eyes as she called out with her voice cracking with emotion.

"It's fine." I can honestly say I have never made a girl cry by asking them out before. I didn't go back to see Sookie for three weeks, that would be the biggest mistake of my life.

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Three weeks later I had finally recovered from my bruised ego and decided to go back and see Sookie. I had really missed her and I decided that having her in my life as just the coffee girl was better than not at all and that I would take anything from her that she would give me.

I walked into the coffee shop and the mood was somber, almost depressing. Amelia and Sam the owner who I rarely saw were standing there and you could tell that Amelia had been crying. I walked up to the counter and she plastered on the fakest smile I have ever seen and said.

"You're a cancer doctor right?"

"Oncologist." I corrected, she waved her hand dismissively and continued.

"And you have a huge crush on Sookie right?" I looked around the room and started to sputter a little bit before she leveled me with a gaze and I hung my head and said.

"Ya, I do. I asked her out a few weeks ago, but it made her cry." I was suddenly wondering why I had come back here. Amelia reached for my hand and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"She has her reasons." She grabbed a pen and wrote an address on a coffee cozy and slid it onto my cup before saying. "This is her address, you really NEED to go see her." She gave me a pointed stare and I guess I wasn't catching on fast enough because she held up a little plastic jar that had a piece of paper tapped to it that said.

_The Save Sookie Fund_

My eyes went wide, Sookie was sick… she had been so this whole time. I had missed all the signs. No, I saw them all and even mentioned them to her. She always just shrugged it off. I looked up at Amelia and gave her a look before I asked.

"Can you be a little more specific as to the condition that requires her to have a "save me" container?" She looked to Sam before she opened her mouth. I have a feeling Sookie had very specifically told them not to mention this to me.

"Okay, Sookie doesn't have insurance, it took her months to save enough money for the test and appointments to even get diagnosed with the breast cancer. Gran lost her house because she mortgaged it out to pay for her first round of treatments, but everything got to be too much and she had to stop treatment that was 6 months ago. So I guess right around the time you met her. Everything has just gone downhill, she is so young. That's why she turned you down, Not because she didn't want to go out with you, but because she is going to die…and soon." I slammed my fist on the counter and growled.

"She doesn't have to die; she could have asked me for help! I could have helped her! No, I will help her." Amelia gave me a sad smile and said.

"You know she never ever would have asked you for something like that." She looked at me again with a curious expression and asked. "It's more than a crush for you, huh?" I nodded again.

"I think so." I took the coffee cozy off of the cup and walked out. I called my office to have the cancel my appointments for the week and I went to find Sookie. The fact that she could die simply because she doesn't have health insurance blew my mind. Sure I knew it happened, but it doesn't faze you until it's at your front door. This is America, the land of opportunities and the free; people shouldn't be dying because they can't afford health insurance. Especially not people a good and kind as Sookie.

I pulled up to her apartment building a few moments later. It was quaint. The building was in good condition, but the neighborhood left much to be desired. I got in the elevator and took it to the 6th floor where Sookies unit was located and knocked at the door when I found her number. It took a while but eventually an older looking woman that I took to be her Gran opened the door. She looked exactly like Sookie, all the way down to the bottom layer of her gray hair being dyed pink. I now think that has something to do with breast cancer awareness, because I noticed Amelia also has pink streaks in her hair.

"Amelia called and said you want to help save my baby." Her eyes held tears and her face looked helpless.

"I want to do everything in my power to help her, I will spare no expense." I watched her smile and allow some tears to fall. She pulled me into a full on bear hug and said.

"You want a date with her that bad?" I pulled back and returned her smile.

"I'm persistent, what can I say." She laughed and pulled me inside closing and locking the door behind us. The apartment was tiny, only one bedroom. I could see the neatly made bed in the front room. I assume that is where her Grandmother sleeps. Everything was clean and it smelled like fresh baked cookies.

"Can I get you something to eat or drink? Her are Sookies medical records. She's sleeping right now." She sheepishly handed me a stack of files. I just patted her hand and politely asked for some coffee. I pored over the files for the next hour. I am a firm believer that early detection is the cure for cancer; Sookie however had to wait three months in-between when she found her first lump and when she could afford to get diagnosed. She received a round of chemo and was responsive to all the treatments she was receiving, but had to stop in the middle because she could no longer afford them. I looked at her scans and I knew they did not look good. I know the time line I would put on her life if she was just another one of my patients, but I couldn't do that with Sookie, I wouldn't do that with her, I couldn't think of her having an expiration date.

I pushed all of the papers away and leaned my head in my hands. Sookies Gran leaned forward and said.

"She's too far gone now, right?" I rubbed my eyes and said.

"I hope not, I could have had her well onto the way of recovering by now if she had just told me about this months ago. I need to have her admitted into a treatment center, like yesterday. We're going to have to repeat all of her scans to see how far it has metastasized. I'm going to recommend a double mastectomy and then aggressive chemo and radiation." She nodded and said.

"I will go wake her up and pack a bag, I trust you can make this happen right now?" I nodded.

"I'll have a room ready for her in an hour." She pulled me into another hug and said.

"You're a good boy, how old are you?"

"32." She smirked.

"Well a seven year difference isn't that bad. My Sookie talked about you. She is quite smitten, she was too sad to go to work for days after you asked her out. She didn't think it was fair to lead you on when she is convinced she is going to die." I hugged her back and tried not to think about what real possibility it could be that she will die from this.

I made the calls to get everything arranged for Sookie; people were more than willing to get what I needed when I said she was my girlfriend. I know she's is not, but I hope it is only a matter of time before she is. I'll have to give her a heads up what I said to get the favors that I needed. I took a seat on the small love seat that was under the one lone window in the whole front room and leaned my head back placing my forearm over my eyes. I felt the seat next to me depress and I turned my head to see a very thin, pale and tired looking Sookie sitting next to me. She had an odd look on her face and she asked.

"Was it Amelia or Sam who forced you to come?" I looked at her stunned.

"I practically had to beat the information out of Amelia. You should have told me months ago." She crossed her arms and flopped back.

"It isn't your place to try to save me. I can't afford whatever you want and coming here and giving my Gran false hope is cruel." I laid my head back and just took her hand in mine twining our fingers together. She was cool and clammy, but I didn't mind because it was Sookie. Without lifting my head I trained my eyes on her and said.

"First off it is my place, I'm a doctor, and oncology is my specialty. Don't worry about the cost. I called in some favors and anything else that's left I'll cover." She was about to protest about me footing the bill, but I just held up my free hand and continued. "I want to date you and I can't do that if you're dead." I lifted my head and looked her straight in the eye. "I will do everything in my power to give your Gran reason for hope. I like her and even if you don't want to date me, you need to let me help you so she can hold onto her hope." She squeezed my hand and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you." She whispered out. She didn't need to thank me. I would have done this even if I needed to drag her kicking and screaming. Gran came out with a packed bag and smiled when she saw how we were positioned and said.

"You will need to drive, because these old bones are not meant to be behind the wheel and Sookie is in no condition to drive." I agreed and took the bag for her. I held Sookies hand all the way down to my car. I'm glad I drove my Mercedes today, the Vette' doesn't exactly have space for others. I helped Sookie and Her Gran into the car and took Sookies hand again before I set out to the hospital. Sookie was going to be my top priority and only patient until she was recovering. I would have to call my sister and see if she could come and cover my practice until I could return. We were driving and I gave Sookie and her Gran the heads up.

"Umm, I was able to get Sookie a room so quick here because I told them that she is my girlfriend. My parents pour a lot of money into their research so they were more willing to extend me rights to work here in timely manner since you were so important to me." Sookie was squinting at me like a pissed kitten and said.

"You just wanted to tell someone I was your girlfriend." I shrugged and said.

"I don't know maybe, just go with it, you might find you like it." Sookie rolled her eyes and huffed, her Gran was rolling in the back seat.

"Oh Sookie, don't let this one go! He puts your right in your place; you won't get away with any of your stubborn shit with him." I smiled smugly; Her Gran already likes me… that's promising. Sookie was facing the window but I could tell from the pull of the side of her face that she was smiling. We pulled up and I helped a very fatigued Sookie out. She was moving too slow, so I tossed her bag over my shoulder and scooped her up bridal style. Sookie protested, but soon gave up when she realized how tired she really was. Gran just clasped her hands and whispered "Just like Rhett and Scarlett." I can already tell that Gran is a hopeless romantic like my sister.

I got her checked in and settled in a room. I was in her room discussing our options with my colleague Dr. Ludwig. We were discussing our best plan of attack, surgical and medical. We were trying to decide who would be best to do the surgeries, because I didn't feel like I could cut into MY Sookie. We were agreeing to ask my sister when Sookie piped up.

"Hey don't talk about me like I'm not here!" I turned to her a slid my chair over to her bed. I took her hand and asked.

"Did you have some Idea's, Lover?" She looked awkward for a moment and said.

"No, I just want to feel included." Ludwig excused herself, and I spent the next 2 hour explaining my plan to Sookie. She cried and I held her when I told her about the double mastectomy.

"I won't be a girl anymore." She sobbed into my shoulder.

"You will still be a girl, you will still be beautiful. If it means that much to you we can have your reconstruction done in the same surgery so you don't have to have any time without them. I don't care though I would lo… care deeply for you with or without them." I almost told her I loved her, which I realized in that moment that I did. My near slip didn't go unnoticed by her; because she looked up at me with the sweetest expression on her tear stained face before saying.

"Okay, I guess if it has to happen I want it all done at once." I kissed her temple and said.

"Good, I'll arrange it. Tomorrow my sister will get here and everything will start to move very fast. She is going to do most of your surgeries, because I don't feel like I would be okay cutting into you." She nodded and pulled me into the bed next to her. I held her while she slept all night. Gran had gone home for the night to make some arrangements at their home so she could stay here more with Sookie soon after I gave her the run down on the game plan. I just held her close to me and prayed I could save her, because if I can't save someone I love what is the point in all of this?

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Sookie and I woke early so we could get all of the tests done for her that we needed before Pam got here this afternoon. It was quite the ordeal for Sookie to go through all at once, but I held her hand through all of the ones I could be in the room for. I don't think the lead vest came off of me for more than a few moments at a time. I put a rush on all of the results so most of them would be ready for Pam. We finished everything about an hour before Pam showed up. When she did arrive we were lying on the bed, with me flat and Sookie on top of me. My eyes were closed, but I heard her gasp when she saw the position I was in. Sookie was asleep, so I held my finger up to my mouth to indicate to her to be quiet and I slowly inched my way out from under Sookie. I finally slid out from under her onto the floor in a less than graceful manner. I got up and grabbed the files and results that had been pouring in over the last hour or so and took her outside so Sookie could rest. I had barely gotten the door shut before Pam punched me in the arm and hissed.

"What the hell Eric, You find a girl that you're in love with and you don't even tell me until she is dying?" I could tell Pam was enraged that she felt like I was leaving her out of my life.

"Calm down Pamela, this is all really new. I didn't even know she was ill until yesterday." She punched me again, and I huffed. I was getting tired of her manhandling me.

"What kind of shitty doctor are you, that your own girlfriend could hide breast cancer from you? I mean didn't you notice something was off when you were handling the breasts in question?" I sighed and took her outside to sit at a table on the balcony to explain how Sookie and I met and got to this point. By the time I had finished Pam was staring at me with glassy stars in her eyes.

"And you love her?" I nodded.

"I think I do, and if I don't I'm sure this is as close to love as you can get without it actually being love." She let out a contented sigh and said.

"Stan is watching over your practice for a while; now give me those so we can fix your lady." We both looked over the results of everything, it did not look promising. Pam looked up at me tears streaming down her face; I was pretty close to crying myself.

"Oh Eric…" Pam placed her hand on my back and I allowed one tear to fall, Sookie was not dead and acting like she was is not going to help anything. I wiped it away and said.

"Okay Pam, how do we do this?" We made a plan and Sookie would be going into surgery tonight. Pam called in a favor to her friend Felicia who is in plastics and she would be here in 3 hours to do the reconstruction. However Sookies breasts weren't the whole issue anymore, it had spread… almost everywhere. Pam and I went back to Sookie, I gently woke her up.

"Sookie, Sookie baby wake up." She took a deep breath and I helped her roll over and sit up. Once she was situated I took her hand and introduced her to my sister and laid out the plan. Of course in pure Sookie nature she asked.

"Eric, why is your sister British?" I laughed and Pam scowled.

"She married a guy named Stan who is English; she just likes to rip off his accent." Sookie laughed and shook her head before comforting my sister.

"I know how that is, I go to visit my friends in Bon Temps and my accent gets so thick I can barely understand myself." They laughed and gabbed like old girlfriend until Pam stood up and said.

"Well I need to go prep for surgery, Sookie you're in good hands; I am the best of the best." She looked smug and patted me on the head like a dog on her way out. Pam really was one of the best, the only one better is my Father and he would have taken too long to get here or I would have called him.

Gran and Amelia showed up to speak to Sookie a little bit before she went into surgery. I turned to Gran and asked.

"Do you want me to scrub in and observe or do you want me to sit with you guys in the waiting area?" She smiled and said.

"What would be best for you?" I said honestly.

"I want to be in there, but I'm pretty sure Pam will throw me out as soon as I open my mouth, which I am sure I won't be able to keep closed. So we might as well just skip the middle man and have me start in the waiting room." Gran chuckled and nodded. They wheeled Sookie into pre-op and I took her hand, knelt by her bed and said.

"You're going to be fine…" I pressed a kiss onto her lips and whispered. "I love you." She smiled and said.

"I know." I laughed.

"How very Han Solo of you." She pulled me down for another kiss and said.

"I know, right? I love you too. I'll see you soon." This was not the situation for our first 'I love you' to be said, but it would have to do. I kissed her one more time and held her hand all the way down the hall until I had to stop. She smiled as the doors closed behind her. I couldn't find the woman I love only to have her ripped away from me, right? She's going to be okay and live a long life. I kept saying that to myself over and over until Pam came out and told me she was in recovery.

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The next few months were both magical and heart breaking. Sookie and I got closer; I was so in love with her it was almost as if she was a piece of me. The heart breaking part was that she was completely unresponsive to all treatment and slid down a steady slide of decline. Gran had moved in with my sister in my house so she could be closer to Sookie, I however never left the hospital. I knew the end was coming and I was not going to miss a moment with her. We never spoke of the future, she knew she was dying and so did I.

One night we were laying in her bed, she was stroking my hair and softly kissing me. Suddenly she pulled back and said.

"You're going to miss me when I'm gone." It was a statement not a question. I didn't want to talk about this. I wanted to continue to pretend like it wasn't going to happen. I buried my face in her shoulder and whispered.

"More than you know." She pulled my face to hers and said.

"I want you to carry on and be happy; I'll wait for you on the other side." I pulled her close to me and allowed my tears to fall.

"Please don't talk about this." I begged.

"No Eric, I don't want you to have any questions. I want you to carry on and love if you find it. I want your life to mean something. I want you to live for me." I nodded, knowing she would be it for me; I could never love another person. But I would give her her wish and live for her. I held her close to me and we cried together for the loss of our love that would be cut short.

Sookie passed away in my arms 3 days later.

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Her funeral was huge, so many people loved her, she had touched so many lives. I held Gran close to me as they lowered her into the ground. Part of my soul was going with her into the earth. Amelia left the state soon after not being able to cope with the loss of her best friend. I permanently moved Gran into my home. Sookie would have wanted her to be cared for. Pam and Stan took over my practice. I had a hard time thinking about going back to work after losing Sookie. It was nice to have Pam so close to me while I healed though.

A year after losing Sookie I was shopping for a gift for Gran for her birthday and I came across and engagement ring that would have been perfect for Sookie. I had to buy it because I didn't want anyone else to have it. I found Gran a broach and I left. I put Sookies ring on a long chain and never took it off.

Gran passed about a year after that and I had her buried next to Sookie. I decided to walk home from the cemetery and I saw a medical building up for sale. Sookies ring had popped out of my shirt and caught my eye, almost like she was trying to tell me something. It was then that I knew what I had to do to make my life mean something.

I bought the building and opened the Sookie Stackhouse Cancer Treatment Clinic. I offered treatment to those without insurance free of cost or extremely discounted. I may not have been able to save Sookie, but I spent the rest of my life keeping as many people as possible from meeting her fate just because they didn't have health insurance.

40 years later I was lying in bed fingering her ring trying to fall asleep like I had every night for the last 43 years. I was thinking about what she would think of what I had made of myself. Pam's children had taken over the clinic 10 years ago and were doing a great job continuing with Sookies gift and I had been content with my sister and her family. I never found love again, I didn't even date. No one was my Sookie. I drifted off to sleep and woke up in bed with Sookie.

"I told you I would see you on the other side." She said to me. I pulled her close to me and said.

"I have missed you so much." I kissed her like she would disappear, which I was afraid she would. I had dreamed of her every night all these years only to have her ripped away from me during my waking hours.

"I missed you too, but you're here now." I caught sight of my hands, they were young looking. My hair was long like it had been when Sookie was alive. It had happened, I had died in my sleep and I finally got to be with Sookie. I felt the ring around my neck and I took it off and said.

"Now you can be my wife." She smiled and kissed me before letting me slip it on her hand and she said.

"For eternity."

_**fin**_


End file.
